Insect Repelling

• Citronella
• Oils of Lavender & Thyme
• Garlic

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- Richard Whelan

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CONSTITUTIONAL MEDICINE
- Ancient wisdom in the modern world

Traditional use

Each and every old culture has found by trial, error and sheer necessity those herbs that would reliably repel biting, stinging, creeping, crawling, and generally unwanted insect intruders!

What follows are merely a few potential allies in this regard, they are selected here because they are widely available and easy to use.

Citronella

Citronella has always been highly regarded as an insect-repellent wherever it grew in the world and it remains the active ingredient in many commercial insect-repellent products to this day.

If you only want the Citronella, and would prefer to leave out the other ingredients in a spray or other topical application, you should be able to inexpensively obtain and use the part that works, the essential ol of Citronella.

For most people, it will be perfectly ok to put a few drops directly on their exposed skin well away from the eyes and mouth but if you have a sensitive skin or will be using it for a child, you should dilute the Citronella with another natural oil so as to soften its effects. How much you dilute it is a matter of personal choice and comfort but a general rule of thumb is 20 drops to 10mls of oil should be quite strong without any risk of sensitivity.

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Oils of Lavender, Thyme and Cloves

Lavender and Thyme are also well regarded as insect repellents, though they are not as strong as Citronella. Lavender oil is one essential oil that you don't need to worry about putting straight on to your skin but Thyme oil should be diluted as described above for the Citronella.

Garlic

Garlic is extraordinarily good at repelling bacteria and fungi from inside the body, the folklore from many old traditions is that eating plenty of garlic makes you and your blood less desirable to insects...

Thymus vulgaris (Thyme)

Please understand that I cannot personally advise you without seeing you in my clinic.
This living 'book' is my labour of love so, wherever you are, I wish you peace & good health!

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